How the Light Gets In

by Joyce Maynard

From New York Times bestselling author Joyce Maynard comes the eagerly anticipated follow-up to her beloved novel Count the Ways —a complex story of three generations of a family and its remarkable, resilient, indomitable matriarch, Eleanor. Following the death of her former husband, Cam, fifty-four-year-old Eleanor has moved back to the New Hampshire farm where they raised three children to care for their brain-injured son, Toby, now an adult. Toby’s older brother, Al, is married and living in Seattle with his wife; their sister, Ursula, lives in Vermont with her husband and two children. Although all appears stable, old resentments, anger, and bitterness simmer just beneath the surface. How the Light Gets In follows Eleanor and her family through fifteen years (2010 to 2024) as their story plays out against a uniquely American backdrop and the events that transform their world (climate change, the January 6th insurrection, school violence) and shape their lives (later-life love, parental alienation, steadfast friendship). With her trademark sensitivity and insight, Joyce Maynard paints an indelible portrait of characters both familiar and new making their way over rough, messy, and treacherous terrain to find their way to what is, for each, a place to call “home.”

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Audiobook, Family, Adult

432 pages, Hardcover

First published June 25, 2024

About the author

Joyce Maynard first came to national attention with the publication of her New York Times cover story “An Eighteen-Year-Old Looks Back on Life” in 1973, when she was a freshman at Yale. Since then, she has been a reporter and columnist for The New York Times, a syndicated newspaper columnist whose “Domestic Affairs” column appeared in more than fifty papers nationwide, a regular contributor to NPR. Her writing has also been published in national magazines, including O, The Oprah Magazine; Newsweek; The New York Times Magazine; Forbes; Salon; San Francisco Magazine, USA Weekly; and many more. She has appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN, Hardball with Chris Matthews, Charlie Rose, and on Fresh Air. Essays of hers appear in numerous collections. She has been a fellow at Yaddo, UCross, and The MacDowell Colony, where she wrote her most recently published novel, Labor Day.

The author of many books of fiction and nonfiction, including the novel To Die For (in which she also plays the role of Nicole Kidman’s attorney) and the bestselling memoir, At Home in the World, Maynard makes her home in Mill Valley, California. Her novel, The Usual Rules—a story about surviving loss—has been a favorite of book club audiences of all ages, and was chosen by the American Library Association as one of the ten best books for young readers for 2003.

Joyce Maynard also runs the Lake Atitlan Writing Workshop in Guatemala, founded in 2002.

Reviews

[Canadian Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Count the Ways was a raw and emotional read. This sequel, was a step back in time to the events that shook this family at their very core. Now 20 years later, more momentous events bring them together while others create a distance.

Maynard magnificently captures an authentic character in Eleonor with the complexity of family; relationships; events that shape our lives: in the death of a family member; an election and Covid. The difficulty raising a family as a single parent; divorce; alienation; estrangement; loneliness and sometimes despair.

This is about the acceptance of imperfections and the joy that can be found there which can sometimes take a lifetime to find.
4.5⭐️

The Bird Hotel will always be my ultimate favourite by Maynard but these are a close second!

[chantalsbookstuff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exactly what I wanted from this book! Each characters story tied up nicely. I even shed a couple of tears.

[Angela M · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Let me get this out of the way upfront before I say why I enjoyed this novel. The repetitive nature of the narration was bothersome . I get that in the first part, it was important to bring the reader up to speed if they were reading this as a stand-alone and have not read Count the Ways. In fairness, I read the two books back to back so the events were fresh in my mind. The past looms large here, the effect of divorce on the family is an important part of the story, and I found that the constant repeating of things that took place in the past was a bit too much at times. BUT I have to give this 4 stars because there is so much here that touched me.

Maynard does a great job of setting the back drop of what is happening in the country. Following Eleanor and her family through 2010 - 2024, the events of the times are reflected as they were in the first book. The horrific mass shootings of Sandy Hook, Las Vegas, and Parkland, Covid, the politics of the time from Supreme Court nominations to the extreme politics that brought us to the attack on the Capital on Jan 6, 2021. All of this felt so close and it was easy to recognize and empathize with their emotions about these things.

As in most family sagas, there are sad and heartbreaking moments. There are some dark and ugly moments affecting the family with drug addiction, alcoholism, illnesses, and people who want to harm them by blackmail and greed. But all of this is tempered by tender moments of love, of the ties that bind no matter what through sickness and tough times. It’s about motherhood and the dilemma of how to be a good mother and still be the person you are. It’s essentially about people ultimately discovering who they are and accepting themselves and each other. In the first book, Eleanor was my favorite character, but her son Toby stole my heart here. I loved the Epilogue.

I received a copy of this book from William Morrow/ HarperCollins through Edelweiss.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joyce Maynard has another brilliant book on her hands with this gripping follow up to Count the Ways. This book can easily be read as a stand-alone, but I highly recommend reading that book first as it was wonderful as well.

After the death of her ex-husband, Cam, Eleanor has moved back to the farm in New Hampshire where her children were raised. With it come memories of all the events that touched and affected their lives. Toby, Eleanor's adult son who suffered a brain injury as a small child, lives with her.

This book follows a 15-year time span and follows the family and each family member’s journey. Eleanor is the focus of this book with Toby coming in a close second. Joyce Maynard depicts how trauma has affected this family. She also shows the family's resiliency, their hope, their insecurities, their issues, their pain, their love, and their triumphs.


I found How the Light Gets In to be a captivating, enjoyable and emotion evoking read. I love Joyce Maynard's writing and her look at families. I appreciate the insight into human behavior and relationships that Joyce Maynard brought not only to this book but to all her books. Families and relationships can be messy, and Joyce Maynard depicted this brilliantly in this book.

Every character in this family was so distinct and unique, which was nice in keeping everyone clear and having a distinct voice. Plus, each had their own journey individually and as member of a family in this book. Toby and his sheep stole the show for me. I simply adored his character.

This book does touch on covid, political events and politics in America, and her characters thoughts on them in this book. While those things happened during this book and it makes sense that the characters would experience and have thoughts on them, it began to feel like repetitive.

This book was beautifully written, compelling, evokes emotion, and full of characters that at times had me wanting to give them a hug. Joyce Maynard is a gifted writer and her talent shines through.

This book does touch on many difficult subjects and Joyce Maynard handled them with care.

*Witch Words buddy read with Brenda ~The Book Witch at Witch Words. Please read her review as well.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com 📖

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4+ stars

This is the follow-up to “Count The Ways” written a few yrs ago that was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read for me.
This book follows Eleanor and her family from the yrs
2010-2024.
This book covers a lot of different topics and issues that happen in her personal relationships and also things going on in the world.
The writing took me back and I easily remembered the events from the first book… I would highly recommend you read “Count The Ways” before this one!

I love this author…have read several of her books!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Books for the ARC!

Available June 25th

[Manda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Once I found out there would be a sequel to Count the Ways, I downloaded the audio book so the story line would be fresh in my mind prior to reading this book (turned out to be unnecessary, as the author circled back throughout the book). Unfortunately (for me) it was much too political, to the point of ridiculous. The author made sure to check every liberal check box: Trump bashing, homosexuality, transgender, school shootings (Trumps fault, apparently), COVID, Capitol riots, etc. I want a book to escape to, not relive our world of political bullshit.
If I wasn't invested in finishing, it would have quickly gone to the DNF pile. Hindsight, I should have closed it after the first Trump tirade and saved myself the time. I enjoyed previous Joyce Maynard titles, but this one will be my last.

[Debi Young · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have enjoyed other books by the author. This book makes me angry. The story would have been great if pushing political views was left out. The irony of talking about Republicans (red hats) being hateful while the author continued to spew hatred towards Trump, Fox News and Trump supporters. Shame on you for making me want to not finish a book. Love the story about typical issues that arise in todays families, ie Disability , Gender Identity and family squabbles but don't push your views and hatred down others throats. Take a lesson from Jodi Piccoult who writes sharing both sides of controversial issues and makes the reader think. I love characters Toby, Al and even Eleanor until she started trying to push the authors political views down the readers throat!

[Tina Dahm · Rating 1 out of 5]

Joyce Maynard is a good writer, I have read 6 other books by her and enjoyed them (including Count the Ways which preceded this). I like character driven books but this just vehicle to include every issue of the day, trans, gay, school shootings, and Trump bashing. I suppose there are people like Jake out there but I know many Republicans and we aren’t the deplorables this author would have you think. I really feel sorry for her because this book must reflect her angst and it is sad.

[Bianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the sixth Maynard novel I read and loved. How the Lights Gets In is a sequel of Count the Ways, the narrator and protagonist is still the matriarch, Eleanor. Now in her fifties, she's back at the farm she had left after her divorce from the father of her three children.

She set aside past animosities and took on caring for Cam who was dying of pancreatic cancer. Following his death, Eleanor stayed to keep an eye on her youngest son, Toby, who had some challenges due to a brain injury he acquired when he was four years old. Toby is such an endearing character, innocent but also wise, he can only see the best in people. His love for goats and cheese making brings him a steady income. Eleanor's income comes from drawing children's books, now and then she lives on the farm for promotions and business meetings. Hollywood is interested in adapting one of her books, so when in LA a chance encounter gives her life some excitement.

Through the years, there are many ups and downs, illnesses, disagreements, strained relationships and disappointments. The realisation that your kids don't need you to solve their problems is bittersweet. When you spend so much time putting everybody's needs ahead of yours, do you even know what your needs and wants are?

There is wiseness and stoicism in Eleanor that comes from having lived for a while and having survived hardship.

I just love Maynard's writing and the way she unfolds the story.
While I generally prefer professional narrators to authors doing the reading, Maynard has always been on the exceptions list, I find her voice and narration style quite soothing, like a balm for my soul.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN
BY: JOYCE MAYNARD

About 3.5 stars!

I didn't read Joyce Maynard's prior novel Count the Ways, more than eight chapters of a sample prior to reading this one. Of the eight chapters that I read I did find it to be much more engaging than this one. This continuation just felt like an info dump and it fell flat. I thought this wasn't organic in the quality of the writing style that I would expect of a literary fiction novel. I feel terrible about not liking it more, but I would be lying if I said that I did. While I applaud Joyce Maynard
as an erudite writer of The Bird Hotel, which I loved and thought was more inspirational and hopeful. I loved her two memoirs. My favorite memoir of all time is written by Joyce Maynard called, At Home in the World, which I highly recommend and it is phenomenal. I also liked her later memoir which is raw and sad called, The Best of Us which tells about finding love again only to lose her new partner to pancreatic cancer. So it's not a question of my not liking this one because it is bleak, since it imparts the wisdom of a writer sharing universal truths about life experience grounded in reality and gained from maturity.

"We don't tell our children who they should be, Eleanor knows now. They tell us."

"Here's the thing about the day a baby is born---if you're lucky, and her health is good.
For that one moment in time---never again, probably---a parent can still believe that
everything is possible. Everything can be perfect. Just as well new parents don't know
all the hard things that await them. For this one brief moment anyway, everything
remains possible. Eleanor feels this now."

There are many pearls of wisdom that Joyce Maynard gifts the reader with. My disappointment lies in how this is written in a tell me instead showing me the way that I prefer. Here's an example after Eleanor the estranged mother of her daughter Ursula finds out about the birth of her transgender daughter Alison who now identifies as male named Al has just had a baby with his wife Teresa. The baby's name is Flora.

"Flora. Our little flower, Eleanor says. She thinks of Cam---then Flora's grandfather
whom she will never know. Like Toby, Cam loved babies. He would have loved being
a grandfather to this one. Locating the pure joy he took from spending time with young
children was something he was uniquely good at. Maybe because he didn't worry so much,
as Eleanor did, about all the practical details of taking care of things, he did better at that
probably, than she had.
Now, as Eleanor thinks about this new grandchild, and the two already born, she's ready
to do better, if her children will allow her to. Maybe Ursula's reluctance to let Eleanor
into her life, and that of her children, stems from this---her memory of how wound
up and occasionally out of control her mother could be on occasion, those times Eleanor
thinks of her visits to Crazyland. (sic) She understands now how much those times
must have scared her children---Ursula most of all, maybe. Eleanor wishes Ursula
could know that she doesn't pour wine over her head as she did on more than one occasion
when her children were young. But Ursula's spent so little time with her mother in the
last many years, she barely knows who Eleanor is anymore. Ursula does not know Eleanor,
as she is now.
Eleanor has never again done what she did that Christmas morning when the children
were small, and she was frustrated with Cam for watching a ball game while she worked,
and just plain exhausted from yet another attempt at creating, for her family, the appear-
ance of a happy Christmas: she picked up the Buche de Noel she'd just finished construct-
ing for their big holiday meal and smashed it into the garbage."

While I never did anything like that and I'm not judging, the narrative unfolds like the above throughout this novel. I certainly know how overwhelming it is to raise young children and I truly felt bad for the way Eleanor was treated by Ursula. Parent estrangement with adult children no doubt is painful and it's not the message that bothered me. It's just not written in a way that I enjoy feeling it unfold with the info dump style of writing as a storytelling technique. I didn't get absorbed into the plot and I couldn't connect to the characters as much as I would have liked. I did like what Joyce Maynard shares about the message, just not a fan of lack of character development for everybody except Eleanor and Toby. I loved both of them and could feel their close relationship on an intimate level. I just would have liked to see more development of Eleanor's other children and the other characters in the novel.

"Becoming a grandparent means getting a second chance to do it right."

A Five Star for the many relatable messages, because I don't know a parent that exists that is perfect. I'm sure we all can look back at things that if we could go back and do it again we would do something different. I didn't exactly relate to some of the questionable choices Eleanor did, but I could see that she tried to be better. We all do the best we can and this is a heartfelt story that is rich. Again, I love the concept just not the delivery. Another issue that didn't work for me were the heavy issues regarding politics. They are presented in a loud way so that they are impossible to overlook. It is very evident exactly where this author's personal viewpoints lean towards, which I thought got tedious, personally, and were a factor of my overall rating.

Publication Date: June 25, 2024

Thank you to Net Galley, Joyce Maynard and William Morrow for generously providing me with my eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#HowtheLightGetsIn #JoyceMaynard #WilliamMorrow #NetGalley

[TracyGH · Rating 4 out of 5]

In January, I read, Count the Ways, which was an easy 5 star read for me. Now in February, while the book was still fresh in my mind I tackled this book, the sequel.

The book reiterated all the family nuances. The many roles a mother plays, hardships, parental estrangement, cancer, the list is truly endless. 5 stars for tackling the hard issues in such vivid, beautiful writing.

I enjoyed this book greatly until it started to repeat itself. It was very repetitive at times. Maybe this was just an annoyance for me, as I read the first book so closely together.
Also, I don’t mind a mention of Donald Trump. I am not even American, but I have had my fill of that man. That is maybe a personal preference, but if I never heard his name again I would be more than okay. I don’t disagree with the author, I just don’t want my reading time to annoy me with political advocacy.

Both books were worth the time. Don’t forget, The Bird Hotel, another stunner of a read by Joyce Maynard. Thanks to Chelsea for scoping this book out for me. 👯‍♀️

[Debsallbookedup · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this as a standalone novel, without any prior knowledge of Joyce Maynard's earlier work featuring the same family. I had high expectations for this book. I wanted to connect with the protagonist and feel for her, but I found it challenging to do. Some of the characters were interesting and semi-relatable but, for the most part, they were unlikeable. The family dynamic was incredibly dysfunctional, with every imaginable issue thrown into the mix.
The narrative contained a great deal of whining and repetition. Literally, throughout the book, repeating sentences/phrases verbatim. Now I know why the book is 432-pages long. I found the excessive political references unnecessary and verged on the ridiculous, as they did not contribute to the context or relevance of the story. The author's agenda was evident, and she made sure to cover all the bases: disability, infidelity, homosexuality, transgenderism, school shootings, racism, Donald Trump, COVID, Capitol riots, religion - the list goes on and on. The political references were not for context or relevance. The author is blatantly pushing an agenda. As a Latina woman, I felt some of the references were borderline offensive. Her references to the Mexican family, naming a goat Jesus, "pronounced the Spanish way" - that's an actual quote. Really?
Although the book offered some insightful moments, in my opinion (which is contrary to others since this has a 4.35 star rating on Goodreads) they were insufficient to redeem the work as a whole. If I had not been committed to finishing the book, I would have abandoned it.
This was my first experience with Joyce Maynard's novels and it may be my last.
I was going to rate it one star but decided on two after reading the epilogue which I found interesting.

[Sheila · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read Count the Ways and liked it despite my general unease with Joyce Maynard's penchant for self-drama. So I succumbed to reading this sequel, which was a mistake. It's horribly repetitious and needed dire editing of Eleanor's endless accounts of her family, her empty affair, and worst of all her pontificating about one national disaster after another (Trump's election, Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing, George Floyd...). I could see the ending coming 100 pages before it ended. Spare yourself.

[Tammy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel so heavy hearted writing this review. I absolutely loved Count The Way and was so looking forward to this book.

After listening to ten out of sixteen hours, I just had enough. I listen to books to escape. This book is too political at this moment in time. I want a break from all of it, not relive everything in the not-so-distant past.

[Diana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Such a disappointment.

[Gwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a huge fan of Joyce Maynard, and I gave the prequel to this book, Count the Ways, 5 stars. Unfortunately, I did not think that this book was as good. It’s extremely character driven and while there are some interesting plot points, not a whole lot happens in the story. Since it is more character focused, I wish I had related to or cared more for Eleanor. To add interest, the book is set amongst the backdrop of significant cultural events over time, and music plays a role in the story-telling. I would have enjoyed a more condensed version. 6/10.

Thank you very much to William Morrow for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Joyce Maynard ‘s work, so I couldn’t wait to read this book. Unfortunately, it fell flat. First, because it’s a continuation of her previous book, Count the Ways, there’s a lot of rehashing for people who might not have read that book. But the biggest problem with the book is that it tries to do everything. We have traumatic brain injury, cancer, Donald Trump, COVID, long COVID, alcoholism, estrangement, you name it. Half way in, the book read more like a list of events and I skimmed the last 100 pages. There are some beautiful insights, but they aren’t enough to save the book as a whole.

[Sandra Crnecki · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am so disappointed. “Count the Ways” was a 4-star-read for me and could have been a 5-star-read if not for the political narrative. This sequel had nothing but political opinions thrown in left and right throughout the novel; so much so that it was almost impossible to focus on the characters and the actual story. It was also completely unnecessary as far as the storyline is concerned. Very sad that the author had to use this novel as a political platform.

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

“How The Light Gets In” by Joyce Maynard is a continuation of Eleanor’s story from her novel “Count The Ways” which was a five star for me. A character driven novel that touched my heart with the recognizable challenges life gives us all…and the grace and determination to keep moving forward through all the love, heartache and eventual lessons we face within our lives. This novel covers the second half of Eleanor’s life set against the backdrop of the tumultuous years our nation has faced recently. I will admit to reading much of this novel in tears due the portrayal of Toby, her special needs son, who as written has so much to teach us about love, compassion and goodness. I recommend reading these two novels in order to fully understand Eleanor. I want to thank NetGalley and William Morrow for a chance to read this wonderful book before its June 25th publication.

[Maryann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN as a stand alone book without having read Joyce Maynard's first novel about this family.
Some of the characters are very relatable, some are too difficult to like. The family is so dysfunctional, having every possible problem a family could have. My rating was lowered because of the Trump-bashing which I felt was overkill. I don't mind having real events in a fictional novel, but I didn't care what political party they were affiliated with.
I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway.

[Debbie Rosenberg · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointed

I have read 4 of Joyce Maynard’s books. I think she is a great writer but I am deeply concerned about her taking a wonderful work of fiction & using it as a means to cram her political views down the reader’s throat. I felt like she was trying to characterize all Republicans as hate filled ignorant people. To me, it just looked like she was so bitter & full of hate that she had to inappropriately incorporate it into a work of fiction. I feel she tried to manipulate my thoughts. I’ll never read another of her books.

[Shirley Leclerc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I absolutely loved this book! Continuing the life of Eleanor as she returns to her former home to care for her dying ex-husband. Eleanor continues to live there and care for Toby, while he cares for his goats. She is still writing and involved with her children, as much as they will allow and still struggles with her relationship with her daughter Ursula, as she faces issues in her marriage and is quite the snit to Eleanor. A relationship develops with a man that allows her to feel special even if it’s when he’s available and they never see more than the inside of hotel rooms.
We follow Toby as he continues to find his place in the world and his impact on those he loves. There are some wonderful and sad and joyful events in his life and you can’t help but be his champion.
We follow Eleanor up to current years and demonstrates the impact the current elections have had on her and how they’ve changed the world. She comes to terms with knowing that there are more days behind her than in front of her, while continuing to feel like that young girl. Haven’t those of us that are a certain age felt like that? Eleanor struggled to find her happiness while remaining supportive of those she loves.
This was the type of book that I absolutely savored! I didn’t want to read it too quickly and I didn’t want it to end but I wondered what they were doing when I wasn’t with them. The best kind of book!
Joyce Maynard has a hit here! Eleanor is my champion, my woman warrior, my hero! Thank you for this title!

[Sheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Joyce Maynard is a very talented author. I have enjoyed many of her books but with this newest book I think she has forgotten that some of her fans are not left leaning. She carries her rhetoric too far, I got to page 222 and quit. Not everything is Trump’s fault. I’m glad I borrowed this book from the library and didn’t spend my money on it.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN
By Joyce Maynard

Read by Joyce Maynard

This is the follow-up to her book, Count the Ways. Eleanor has moved back to the New Hampshire farm to live with Toby after the death of Cam. This part of the story is told from the year 2010 through 2024. We get glimpses of historical events and music of the times. Eleanor finally makes some time for herself in this story, which was good to see. Toby, of course, is the star in this book, as well as, the previous.

The lyric by Leonard Cohen — “There is a crack, a crack in everything/That’s how the light gets in” — really speaks in this story. In this story it’s learning to embrace the messy, difficult, and sometimes painful cracks in our lives and finding the beauty in them.

This book is really about forgiveness, more than anything, also family, love, relationships between parents and children. I believe Eleanor has made her peace with imperfection. What is a good parent? What is a good mother?

The recapping of what happened in Count the Ways, was more than I expected and felt it just made this book longer than was needed. Her writing is intimate, honest, and character driven. Much of her work draws from her own life experiences. I enjoyed her reading of this story. How the Light Gets In, is an exploration of the complexities in life and I look forward to reading other books by Maynard.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
How The Light Gets In is the sequel to Maynard’s prior novel, Count The Ways. This is a wonderful continuation of a story that was quite memorable and I was very happy to receive an Advanced Reader’s Copy.
For me, this book brought closure and it also added insight into Eleanor’s story as well as providing additional points of view from some of the other main characters, like her children and husband.
This book spans over a fifty year period and I was totally absorbed in Eleanor’s journey. I would recommend that Count The Ways be read first in order to truly appreciate this great story about a family tragedy, family personalities, relationships, and the passage of time.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before reading How the Light Gets In, I read the previous book about the same family, Count the Ways. I enjoyed the earlier book and looked forward to reading How the Light Gets In.

It turned out that I did not have to read the earlier book for everything in it reappeared in the memories and backstories of the characters in this second book. Consequently, a huge chunk of How the Light Gets In was not very engaging to me.

This novel picks up where the last one ended: Eleanor had elected to care for her ex as he died of cancer, and she takes up the job of caring for their son, Toby, who suffered brain damage as a child when he nearly drowned. Eleanor’s ex was in charge of watching the kids at the time, and she could not forgive him. Her ex had an affair with their baby-sitter, then a college student. The couple had divorced, with Eleanor moving out and allowing him to stay on her farm because her husband did not have an income to afford a home. Their daughter never forgave her mother, assuming she had ended the marriage.

So, the novel begins with Eleanor and Toby living on the farm, the oldest daughter not speaking to her mother, and another child living across the country.

Eleanor is an artist and book writer. An early novel has been picked up for a movie. In LA, Eleanor meets an exciting man and they fall into bed on first meeting,–just as she had done with her ex. Over time she realizes he is self-centered and does not want her world in their relationship.

Meanwhile, the daughter won’t divorce her angry, alcoholic husband who is without a job. The homelife negatively impacts their children. She only asks for her mother’s help in an emergency, then allowing the children to be with their grandmother.

Eleanor and Ursula and several other minor characters portray women who make bad choices for good reason.

In all this dysfunction, bad decisions, bad luck, and grief, Toby shines as the source of pure love and acceptance, his insight and moral compass remarkable considering he was left pretty much catatonic after the accident. He befriends small children and misfits, who all love him dearly. Toby faces down a number of crises, threats to himself and those he loves, emerging as a true hero.

Punctuating the story are historical events and music that grounds it in time. School shootings, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the rise of Trump and MAGA, all impact the characters.

The novel is about brokenness and healing, bad luck and bad choices, forgiveness, and how life brings joys and pain but the good can overweight the bad. This message is wonderful and badly needed, and makes up for the novel’s flaws.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

[Di · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a sequel to Count The Ways, published in 2022. It's helpful to have read the first book but not necessary. When events from the past are mentioned, there are always enough details that the reader won't feel lost.

This story covers many years. We watch Eleanor and her family quietly go about their lives, the children are grown with children of their own. It is character-driven, with a lot of narration. We are privy to many of Eleanor's thoughts as she gets reflective of events in her past. As in the first book, the reader has a window into an imperfect family with conflict, love and everything else that accompanies a family dynamic. Reality. In particular, I love Eleanor’s relationship with her differently-abled son, Toby. Toby is such a unique and lovable character.

Many current issues and events are mentioned in the book. In one way, I think it helps the story to be relevant. But sometimes, it gets too detailed, at which point it seems to bog down the flow of the story.

Just as in the first book, I have come away from this book feeling like this is a very real family, one I have gotten to know (and like) well. I know I will miss them when I’m finished.

A few of my personal positives: I loved the cover! No particular reason, I just do. And I appreciate that some of the chapters are very short. Short chapters make books fly by! And, lastly, I love that one of the little girls grows up reading Beverly Cleary books. This is the author that got me on the wonderful road of reading, many years ago.

And, one negative, that doesn't really impact my rating: the book could have been a little shorter. The narrative on climate change (which DID fit into the story) could have been hugely condensed. There were a few other parts that could have been edited to be shorter. But, the part that almost affects my rating (down from 5 stars to 4 stars) is all the talk of Donald Trump. I don't want or need to read about controversial political issues in a novel about a family. But in the end, I couldn’t do it. This truly is a 5 star book.

And, lastly, thank you to Joyce Maynard for adding the epilogue. Much appreciated!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my type of book. In my opinion, too long, largely simplistic and unrealistic, overly depressing, whining and repetitive for about 95% of the book with little upside, a bit too politically biased, and not well developed for my taste. Ending too contrived.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

good story just too political

I enjoyed the overall story and would have rated the stars but there is too much political ranting. Not necessary. Stick to
The family story.

[Cheryl Locke · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope.